dismissedNOV142022_02B52032022-11-14 · appeal · Texas Service Center
This is an AAO appeal decision — a case denied once and appealed. It shows how the framework is applied; it is not the filing population.
The Petitioner, a dentist, initially proposed working as a medical scientist conducting dental research, advising, and training, but later revised her plan to open a U.S. dental clinic combined with a facial harmonization/esthetician spa.
Field: dentistry · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found and AAO agreed Petitioner qualifies as advanced degree professional via AACRAO EDGE database equivalency, despite an unreliable credential evaluation submitted by Petitioner.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established
“the record does not include evidence of projected earnings or hirings for this business, or that it is located in an economically depressed area.”
“these points are undeniably true, they apply to the dental profession overall and not to her specific endeavor”
“the record does not show that the Petitioner would be engaged in activities that would impact the dental field or dental health more broadly.”
AAO decision text
Prong 2 — well positionednot established
“she is currently unable to legally advance her proposed endeavor, and has focused on obtaining certification as an esthetician rather than licensure as a dentist”
“did not include a business plan for this business specifically addressing the addition of dental services, or any projections of earnings or staffing.”
“did not submit evidence of available funding for the start-up and operation of a facial spa and dental clinic, or the interest of any business partners or investors.”
AAO decision text
Prong 3 — balance of factorsnot established
“a labor shortage in the Petitioner's field alone does not tilt the balance between protection of the domestic labor force and any national interest”
“since she has not shown that her proposed endeavor would be of national importance, or that she is well positioned to advance her proposal for a dental clinic, we conclude that it would not be in the national interest”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- degree · discounted
“these conflicting assessments, and the lack of a detailed review of the course hours earned, render this evaluation unreliable and of no probative value.”
AAO decision text - business plan · discounted
“did not include a business plan for this business specifically addressing the addition of dental services, or any projections of earnings or staffing.”
AAO decision text - certification membership · discounted
“she indicated that she had recently been licensed as an esthetician in the state of Florida”
AAO decision text - funding · discounted
“did not submit evidence of available funding for the start-up and operation of a facial spa and dental clinic”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
- Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
- Business plan speculative · p2 — projections without a documented basis or steps
- Funding absent · p2 — no documented funding or resources behind the plan
- No progress evidence · p2 — no documented movement toward the endeavor since filing
- Derivative of Prong 1/2 failure · p3 — prong three fails only because prongs one or two did — no independent ground
- U.S. worker availability · p3 — the impracticality of a labour-market test was asserted, not established
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Notable
AAO independently consulted the AACRAO EDGE database to override an unreliable private credential evaluation and still found the threshold EB-2 requirement met, despite the Petitioner's shifting endeavor description from research/teaching to a dental-clinic-facial-spa business.
Authorities this decision leans on
From the doctrinal survivor set — 187 authority tests across 47 distinct authorities cleared the differential-lift gates. Only those appear here.
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
- INA 203(b)(2)
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